Friday, March 3, 2017

Paleo-Orthodoxy: The Social Nature of God and the Image of God in Humanity

It
is a fact that humanity reflects the social nature of God. In order
to understand this fact we have to examine, first, the nature of
being. That is, what is it that constitutes a person? This is
answered in Genesis chapter 1 wherein we find the following very
important passage:

“So
God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.”- Genesis 1:27

This
verse is at the center of this discussion since it defines for us
what it is to be a person. That is, a person is properly defined as
that which is created in God's own image. That describes only one
creature- humanity. This leads to the logical question, in what sense
then are we his “image”? There are three elements that basically
make up this “image” in humanity. Humanity reflects God's image
through:

Function- What we do in the world. Our creativity and how it
impacts the world and others in our world. We have dominion in our
world and are capable of complex communication. We are also equal in
dignity (male and female), though we are different in the roles we
fulfill. We possess memory, intellect, will, and reason.

Morality- We have an innate sense of moral law and of
justice. We grasp instinctively the concepts of right and wrong, and
we are able to transcend mere personal desires or even needs for the
greater good of another. We have a drive to love and be loved.

Spiritual-
We are spiritual beings with a need for spiritual sustenance.

While
I acknowledge these three are perhaps myopic, I think they get to the
heart of our discussion. These elements describe the nature of being, of personhood. Each of these three elements shares one
commonality. That is, all three are undeniably relational. This
points us to the social nature of God as His image in humanity.

God's
social nature is expressed in:

Function- He created and interacts with the world. His
creativity clearly has impact on our lives, and while we have
dominion, He is still sovereign over His creation. Additionally, God
communicates to humanity and is co-equal in all aspects with regard
to the Triune Persons, though the Father, Son and Holy Spirit each
take a different role. God possesses memory, intellect, will, and
reason.

Morality- The innate sense of morality in humanity demands
there be a moral law Giver. God, who is holy, is the ground of all
morality. He is just, and He always seeks our highest good. This is
so because he loves us, and it is His will that we love Him.

Spiritual-
God is Spirit, and all spiritual sustenance flows from His
blessings.

These
elements are seen even in the relationship between the Persons of the
Holy Trinity, which is loving, self-giving, and adoring of one
another.

“I
think along with many others that God is eternally relational. So God
is love that has meaning because within the being of God there are
three persons that actually love each other. It is not like me loving
myself which is a kind of bizarre, but this is different when I say I
love my wife. It is different when we say the Father loves the Son
who loves the Spirit and they all three love each other. And it seems
to me that all three are other oriented and we as humans are best
fulfilled when we are other oriented in that self-giving relationship
that we find in the trinity. I think this is a pattern for all of
life, that of being relational, other centered and self-giving and it
is right in the heart of the trinity referring to God eternally as
gracious and loving and faithful, because the persons of the trinity
do that to each other.”1

This
love is expressed by humanity, again, in our function, morality and
spirituality, which all flow out of, and are consistent with, the two greatest commandments.

“Teacher, which is the
great commandment in the Law?”And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like
it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.On these two commandments depend all the Law and
the Prophets.” - Matthew 22:36-40 (ESV)

PRAYER

Most Holy Trinity, One God, eternally loving and relational; help us to always be aware that we are created in Your Image, and that with that image comes great responsibility as well as blessing. Help us to reflect Your loving relationship in our love for others, and to love You as we ought. Amen.